Vacuum-producing device.



l. McALEAR.

VACUUM PRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.3. 1913.

1,148,601 a Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

COLUMBIA PIANMIAPH 50.,WA3HINGTON, D. c.

J. McALEAR.

VACUUM PRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3. m3.

'Patnted Aug. 3, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7%?57265563 Invenfo'r COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

.l. McALEAR.

VACUUM PRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 3, 19l3- Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

aw J62??? coLuMmA PLANDORAPH co., WASHINGTON, D c.

J. McALEAR.

VACUUM PRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 3, 1913.

1,148,601. Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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Jimze M60486?" J. McALEAR.

VACUUM PRODUCING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 3. 1913.

1,148,601. Patent/ed Aug. 3, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5- COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cc.. WASHINCITDN. n. c.

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JAMES MGALEAR, 0F CEICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VACUUM-PRODUCING DEVICE.

Application filed November 3, 1913.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMns MOALEAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vacuum-Producing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vacuum producing devices and has for its object to produce a device of this description particularly adapted to be used in connection with vacuum heating systems.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a view with parts broken away showing one form of vacuum producing device embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a plan view with parts omitted of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line H of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a view showing the front elevation with parts omitted of the device shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a view showing one of the valve disks of Figs. 4: and 5; Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 3; Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 99 of Fig. 4:; Fig. 10 is a view in part section showing a modified construction.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures.

The vacuum producing device may be located at a convenient point and when used in connection with a vacuum heating system, it is connected by the pipe 1 with the vacuum line from the radiators. The pipe 2 connects the device with a source of steam supply and a pipe 3 with a source of water supply. A suitable base or supporting device 4 is provided with a flange 5, the pipe 1 being connected to the base by means of said flange and a similar flange 6 on the pipe. The base is provided with a passage way 7 leading from the pipe 1 to the tank 8. The base 4 is also provided with a flange 9 and the steam pipe is connected with said base by means of said flange and a similar flange 10 on the steam pipe, there being a passage way 11 leading throughvsaid base from said steam pipe to the passage way 7 and thence to the tank 8. The base is also provided with a flange 12 and the water pipe 3 is connected with said base by means of said flange and a similar flange 13. A passage way 14in the Specification of Letters Patent.

water from pipe 28 passes.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

Serial No. 798,859.

base communicates with the pipe 3 and with the passageway 7 which communicates with the tank 8. The passage way 14 is preferably provided with a nozzle 15 so that the water may be forcibly directed into the tank 8. The base 4 is also provided with a flange 16 upon which is supported the casing 17 of the thermostatic diaphragm or bellows 18. The diaphragm or bellows 18 may be made in any desired manner and contains a liquid which expands when heated so as to lift or expand the bellows. The base is provided with a passage way 19 leading from the casing 17 to a pipe 20 projecting part way into the tank 8. This pipe 20 is provided with a spraying part 21 from which the water from nozzle 15 strikes so that it may be sprayed or scattered about the tank. It will be seen that the base 4: is made in a single piece with cored out passage ways for the air, water and steam arranged to prevent the atmospheric air from entering, the flanges by'means of which the communications to the air, water and steam pipes and the thermostatic casing are made being all in alinement. This facilitates and cheapens the manufacture of the apparatus. The communication between the passage way 19 and casing 17 is controlled by a check valve 22. A discharge pipe 23 leads from the casing 17 to any suitable point. As herein shown, this discharge pipe connects with another discharge pipe 24 leading from the bottom of the tank 8 through which water is discharged from said tank, the pipe 2% being provided with a check valve 25.

The casing 17 is provided with a suitable cover 26, said cover being provided with a connection 27 by means of which it is connected with a water pipe 28. The cover is provided on its inner face with a grooved or trough-shaped portion 29 preferably extending entirely therearound into which the This grooved or trough-shaped portion is preferably provided at its inner edge with a discharge opening 30 extending entirely therearound so that the water may overflow on to the thermostatic diaphragm or bellows 18 so as to cool the expanding material therein and cause the bellows to contract or collapse. Connected with the bellows 18 is a pin 31 which engages the lever 32 pivoted at 33 with the top of the. casing. This lever is provided with a retracting device, such as the weight 34, and acts to control the valves which control the admission of the steam and water through pipes 2 and 3. As herein illustrated, the lever 32 is connected by a link 35 with a valve controlling part 36 loosely mounted on the stem 37 of the steam controlling valve for pipe 2. Associated with the controlling part 36 is a disk 38 fastened to the valve stem 37 and provided with two projections 39 and 40. The controlling part 36 is provided with a stem 41 which passes between these projections (see Figs. 2 and 7) so that when moved a proper distance, it will move the disk 38 and the valve stem 37 so as to rotate the valve 42 to open or close the connection between the steam pipe 2 and the passage way 11 in the base 4. The valve 42 may be formedin any desired manner. As herein shown it consists of abody portion to which is movably connected a segmental portion 43. The segmental portion 43 has its upper face ar-' ranged to receive the pressure of thesteam so that the steam will hold it against its seat. hen in one position this segmental portion 43 closes the port 44 and when in another position it opens said port and permits the steam to pass therethrough. The stem 41 is pivotally connected to a rod 45 carrying a spring 46. This spring bears at one end against a nut 47 and at the other end against a movable compressing part 48. This compressing'part is adaptedto engage a fixed part 49 through which the rod projects. As the controlling part 36 is moved either to close or open the valve (see Fig. 2) the stem 41 and the rod 45 are'brought into alinement at the center and the spring '46 compressed, and after it passes the center, the spring 46 acts to throw the parts to their final position. The controlling piece 36 is provided with an enlarged slot 50 into which fits a pin 51 connected with an arm 52 attached to the valve stem 53 (see Fig. 4) of the valve which controls the water pipe 3. This valve is arranged so that when the valve is open, a portion of the water will pass to .the tank 8 and another portion through the pipe 28 to the bellows 18. In the constructions shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the valve casing is provided with a. diaphragm 54 which. has a series of openings 55 which pass through the diaphragm and an opening 56 which passes only part way through and connects with the pipe 28 lead ing to the bellowslS. Back of the diaphragm 54 is a movable valve disk 57 which is also provided with a series of openings 58 adapted to register with the openings 55 and an opening 59 adapted to register with the opening 56. The valve stem 53 is pro vided with a non circular end 53 which fits in a similar shaped end open in'the' disk 57, the opening beinglonger than the end 53 there being a spring 60 arranged to press the disktoward the diaphragm 54. When the valve stem 53 is drawn in one direction, the disk is moved so that the openings 58 register with the openings 55 and the opening 59 registers with the opening 56. lVater then passes from the pipe 3 through the openings 55 and 58 down into the passageway 14 and thence into the tank 8, a portion of the water passes through the opening 59 and the opening 56 into the pipe 28 and thence into the bellows casing 17. The valve 53 is controlled by the arm 32. The pipe 1 is provided with a check valve 61 (see Fig. 8) so that when the steam passes through the pipe 3, it can not pass into pipe 1. A pipe 62 leads from the pipe 1 to an ordinary diaphragm valve 63 (see Fig. 2). The stem 64 of this valve is provided with a spring 65 which engages a stationary part 66 at one end and a nut 67 on the valve stem at the other end. A pivoted stop piece 68 is con nected with the valve stem 64, the end being arranged so that when there is a predetermined'va cuum on the system, the valve stem 64 will move the'stop piece 68 so that it will be in the path of the controlling part 36 when said part is moved down by the weight 34 and will stop said part before the steam valve is opened and when the water valve is .closed, the stop device under those conditions engaging-the end 69-ofthe controlling part. When the vacuum is reduced a predetermined amount, the spring 65 moves the stem 64 upwardly thereby moving the end'of the stop device out frombeneath the controlling part 36 and allowing the weight to move the parts to open the steam valve. The lever 32 is preferably provided with an adjustable stop piece 70 which is preferably provided with the end made of rubber or other soft material. 71 of the controlling part 36 engages this stop piece 70 when the controlling part is moved to open the steam pipe.

I have described in detail a particular construction embodying the invention but it is of course evident that the parts maybe changed in form, construction and arrange- The end i mentwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not limit myself to the particular construction shown.

Some means is preferably provided'for' controlling the speed at which the device operates so that the withdrawal of the air from the system may be regulated to meet the conditions presented. Referring now to Fig. 10, there is shown a modified construc tion where steam for actuating the diaphragm 18 is taken directly from the system instead of from the tank 8. In'this device a pipe 72 passes'directly from the steam pipe 2 to the casing 17 inclosing the diaphragm 18. In this construction the pipe 2 isprovided with a'valve similar to that shown in connection with the water pipe 3 and illustrated in detail in Figs. 4, 5 and 9, and the pipe 72 is connected with the opening 56 in said valve so that the steam passes directly from the pipe 2 into the pipe 72 and thence into the casing 17. The larger part of the steam when the valve is open passes through the opening 55 and down into the tank 8. The pipe 72 is provided with a valve 73 and the water pipe 28 is provided with a valve 74 so that the amount of water and steam entering the casing 17 may be regulated as desired tomake the device operate slowly or rapidly in accordance with the needs of the system. In this construction of Fig. 10, the tank 8 is not connected with the casing 17 but the pipe 23 connects with the passage way 19 below the casing 17 and there is a discharge pipe by means of which water entering the casing 17 through the pipe 28 is discharged.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows: When the apparatus is started up, the valve 42 of the steam pipe is open and the valve in the water pipe 3 is closed as shown in Fig. 1. The steam now passes through said valve into the passage ways 11 and 7 and down into the tank 8. This steam forces the air in the tank 8 out through the pipe 20, passage 19 and valve 22 into the casing 17 and thence out through the pipe 23. When the steam strikes the bellows 18 it expands the material therein and causes said bellows to expand thereby lifting the lever 32 and the weight 30 to the position shown in Fig. 2. This moves the controlling part 36 so as to close the valve 42 in the steam pipe and open the valve in the water pipe by causing the disk 57 (see Fig. 4) to move so that the openings 58 and 55 will register and the opening 59 will register with the opening 56. Water now passes from pipe 3 down through the nozzle 15 (see Fig. 2.) and into the tank 8, said water striking the spreading or spraying device 21 so as to spread or scatter the water over the tank, the water condensing the steam there in. This produces a partial vacuum in the tank 8 and causes air to be drawn from the radiators of the heating system through the pipe 1 into the tank 8. At the same time, water passes through the pipe 28 into the grooved or trough-shaped portion 29 and spills over the edge on to the bellows 18, cooling the bellows and causing it to collapse so that the weight 34 and arm 32 moves it back to the position shown in Fig. 1 to again open the steam valve and close the water valve, and the operation above described is repeated. If the vacuum in the system is sufiicient for the desired purpose at this time, the stop device 68 will stop the controlling part 36 when both the steam and water valves are in their closed position so as to prevent further action of the device. As soon as the vacuum lowers a predetermined amount, the stop piece 68 is moved from under the controlling part 36 so as to permit the weight 34 to move said part to open the steam valve so that the device may again be set in operation.

When the construction in'Fig. 10 is used, the steam is automatically admitted to the casing 17 in the same manner as the water is automatically admitted thereto, the steam being taken directly from the steam pipe.

The water and the steam may be controlled by means of the valves 73 and 74 so that the diaphragm or bellows 18 may be operated at any desired speed to meet the conditions of the system. This speed should be varied with different kinds of weather and different heating systems and varied sizes of the plants, etc.

I claim 1. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, an air pipe leading to said tank, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a Water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, an automatic controlling device for said valves comprising an expanding device, a casing surrounding said bellows, a lever attached to said expanding device so as to be moved thereby when the expanding device expands, means for opposing the movement of the lever by said expanding device, a connection between said lever and said Water and steam valves so that when the lever is moved to open one valve, it closes the other, a steam connectionand a water connection leading to said casing controlled by the movement of said lever whereby when the lever is moved in one direction. steam enters said tank and said casing and when the lever is moved in the opposite direction the steam is shut off and water enters said tank and said casing.

22. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, an air pipe leading to said tank, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, an automatic controlling device for said valves comprising an expanding device, a casing surrounding said expanding device, a lever attached to said bellows so as to be moved thereby when the expanding device expands, means for opposing the movement of the lever by said expanding device, a connection between said lever and said water and steam valves so that when the lever is moved to open one valve it closes the other, connections leading from said steam and water pipes to said casing, said connections controlled by said lever so that the steam and water may alternatel y enter said casing to act upon said expanding device.

3. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, an air pipe leading to said tank, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, an automatic controlling device for said valves comprising an expanding device, a casing surrounding said expanding device, a lever attached to said bellows so'as to be moved thereby when the expanding device expands, means for opposing the movement of the lever by 4:. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, an air pipe and a water pipe leading to said tank, valves controlling said pipes, a casing mounted on said tank, an expanding device in said casing, a lever connected with said expanding device so as to be moved by the expansion thereof, said lever connected with said valves and means for automatically alternately inserting water and steam into said casing so as to act upon the expanding device.

5. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, an air pipe and a water pipe leading to said tank, valves controlling said pipes, a casing mounted on said tank, an expanding device in said casing, a lever connected with said expanding device so as to be moved by the expansion thereof, said lever connected with said valves and means for automatically alternately inserting water and-steam into said casing so as to act upon the expanding device, and a distributing device associated with said casing for distributing the water over said expanding device.

6. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, an air pipe leading to the tank, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, an auto matic controlling device for said valves comprising an expanding motor device operatively connected therewith, a casing containing said device, a branch pipe leading from the water pipe to said casing and controlled by the valve in the water pipe, a branch steam pipe leading from the steam pipe to the casing and controlled by the valve in the steam pipe whereby as said valves are moved, water and steam are alternately injected into said casing to act upon said expanding motor device.

7 A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, a supporting device. thereon made of a single piece and provided with three passage ways leading to the tank, flanges at the mouths of said passage ways,

adapted to be connected with said passage ways when the flanges thereof are connected with the flanges of the supporting device.

8. A Vacuum producing device comprising a tank, a pipe leading to said tank adapted to be connected with the device in connection with which the vacuum producing device is used, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, a motor device, a lever connected with. said motor device and said valves, a connection from said motor whereby when the motor device is actuated one valve is closed and the other open, a casing for said motor device and means foralternately introducing water and steam into said casing so as toactuate said motor.

' 9. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, a pipe leading to saidtank adapted to be connected with the device in connection with which the vacuum producing device is used, a steam pipe leading tosaid tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, a motor device, a lever connected with said motor device and said valves, a connection from said motor whereby when the motor device is actuated one valve is closed and the other open, a casing for said motor device and means for alternately introducing water and steam into said casing so as to actuate said'motor, and means associated with the casing for distributing the water thereby.

10. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, a pipe leading tosaid tank adapted to be connected with the device'in connection with which the'vacuum; producing device is used, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes, a motor device, a lever connected with said motordevice and said valves, a connection from said-motor whereby when the motor device is actuated one valve is closed and the other open, a casing for said motor device and means for alternately introducing water and steam into said casing so as to actuate said motor and means for controlling the admission of water and steam in said casing so as to vary the speed at which said valves are operated.

11. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, a pipe leading to saidtank adapted to be connected with the device with which the vacuumproducing device is used, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, controlling valves for said steam and water pipes by means of which steam and water may be admitted to said tank, means independent of the degree of vacuum for moving said valves to open and close them and a device responsive to the degree of vacuum for limiting the control of said steam and water valves.

12. A vacuum producing device comprising a tank, a steam pipe leading to said tank, a water pipe leading to said tank, valves in said pipes, a pivoted lever connected with said valves for controllingthem, an expanding device connected with said 10 lever, a casing inclosing said expanding device and a pivotal connection between said lever and said casing.

In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature in the presence of two witnesses this 30th day of October 1913.

JAMES MOALEAR.

Witnesses GENEVA HIRTH, Bnss MAWHINEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

